Apology Corner: Maroon 5

This will be a short post, but I simply had to place this energy out into the world: I like Maroon 5. The Los Angeles-based pop band led by superstar vocalist Adam Levine has been maligned (by me) as "cliche", "basic", and "overrated" for years in the past. This one-sided dispute rose to unprecedented heights in recent years, culminating with me questioning whether Levine was even qualified to be a judge on NBC's The Voice and claiming privately that their Super Bowl halftime show in 2019 was "Easily the worst I've seen in my lifetime" when I knew fully well that a certain Katy Perry had graced the same stage a mere four years prior. I want this post to finally put this conflict to rest.

"Misery" is a bop. "She Will Be Loved" and "Payphone" are modern pop classics. "Girls Like You" (the version not featuring Cardi B.) gets stuck in my head for at least an hour once a week. "Moves Like Jagger" is still not good. Several other songs are excellent at giving solid vibes as the background in supermarkets and on the airwaves of your standard pop/country/repeat-the-same-five-songs-in-perpetuity radio stations. I'm man enough to admit my mistakes and recognize that just because they're popular and Adam Levine doesn't seem like the most stand-up dude (Google "Adam Levine DMs" if you're really curious), I can admit that it's not cool to despise them (anymore). At the end of the day, game should still recognize game. They've been rolling out timeless music for over a decade, and hating on them doesn't make anyone more unique or special. Now, Taylor Swift on the other hand......*ducks and hides*